Missing method in database API

For the most part, I've stopped using the deprecated methods of the old DAL. However, a very common use case is much simpler using the DAL and there doesn't seem to be a parallel method in the API. When I need to run a query that returns a single value, nothing beats DBLookup:

value = tDAL.DBLookup("select make from carsmake where id=25");

I would love to see a similar method implemented in the API.